Shortly after news of Jimmy Butler’s trade to the 76ers broke last Saturday, Philadelphia center Joel Embiid called Andrew Wiggins to ask exactly what it was going to be like playing with Butler.

“I said, ‘You’re going to love it,’ because he’s an unselfish player and he’s a winner,” Wiggins said. “If you’re going to battle, you want him on your side. So, I think they’ll be a lot better with him, and he’ll benefit the team in a lot of ways.”

That doesn’t fit the narrative of Butler being the poor teammate he was made out to be toward the end of his stay in Minnesota. But when he was around, Butler was generally liked by many Timberwolves players.

Wiggins wasn’t thought to be one of those guys. On the day Butler’s trade request went public, Wiggins’ brother, Nick, tweeted, “Hallelujah.” Many believed Nick was tweeting for Andrew, but that might not have been the case.

“I feel like a lot of guys wanted him to stay,” Wiggins said.

Including Wiggins?

“Definitely,” he said.

You can count Wiggins among players who didn’t seem to have a problem with Butler. Wiggins said he wouldn’t even call Butler’s brief stay in Minnesota a disappointment. Butler played a key role in the Wolves ending their 14-year playoff drought last spring, but at times last season, Wiggins appeared to be worn down by Butler’s abrasive style of leadership.

But Wiggins said he picked up a number of things up from the All-NBA wing.

Jace has covered a slew of sports since he joined the Pioneer Press in May 2015, but his primary duty is covering high schools. Jace enjoys the beat, even though he's been mistaken for a student on multiple occasions.

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